Chapter 71
The journey back to the capital was fairly long in terms of distance, but thanks to Eshe and Aria, it felt surprisingly short. Originally, Eshe had planned to ride separately, but when Aria clutched his sleeve tightly and gave him a look that would make anyone cry if they refused to go together, the three of them ended up riding together. Fortunately, the carriage was spacious enough to comfortably seat all five of them.
Eshe poked Aria’s perfectly white, soft cheeks when she climbed onto his lap and smiled. When he poked her right cheek, Aria was startled and covered it with her hand. When he poked her left cheek, she covered it with both hands. Aria tried to stand up to poke Eshe’s cheek in return, but the carriage jolted, and she plopped back down.
Unable to hold back any longer, Eshe finally burst into laughter.
“Mommy!”
“Yes, our Aria. The duke was being so mean, wasn’t he?”
“You’re laughing too, Mommy!”
“No, I’m not.”
“Waaah!”
Aria reached out for Charlotte for help, but when even her trusted mother laughed, she cried out. Charlotte soothed her, teased her, and soothed her again… They played like this for a long while. Having set out early in the morning before sunrise, Charlotte finally fell asleep holding Aria, and when she woke up, the day had already faded. Since there was no urgent matter this time, they still had to travel for two full days.
Charlotte carefully adjusted Aria in her arms to avoid waking her and got up. But Eshe, who should have been sitting right in front of her, was nowhere to be seen. Still half-asleep and slow to grasp the situation, Charlotte flinched when she heard a voice right next to her.
“Who are you looking for?”
“!”
“I think it would be better if you slept a little more. We won’t arrive until the sun rises again.”
Aria nearly woke up. Eshe was sitting right beside her. When had he moved there? Charlotte’s eyes widened as she blinked several times, silently demanding an explanation, and Eshe obediently answered.
“You kept bumping your head on the window.”
“!”
“So I offered my shoulder, and you seemed to want to lie down completely.”
“Th-That’s impossible!”
Charlotte’s face flushed as if it would explode. Impossible! She had leaned against Eshe’s shoulder and behaved in such an absurd way! She shook her head, denying it without screaming too loudly for fear of waking Aria.
Eshe, who hadn’t expected her to be so embarrassed, couldn’t hold back his laughter this time either, just like when he had teased Aria. Only then did Charlotte realize he had deliberately added a little lie and stared at him silently.
“It’s true that you were hitting your head on the window, but you weren’t lying down. Aria said, ‘Mommy, it’ll hurt your head,’ and asked me to come closer, so I did.”
“It feels a little strange to hear the duke say that.”
“The words ‘it’ll hurt’? Well… you used to say that often when you were little, so it doesn’t…”
“So you’re teasing me again…!”
“Recall your memory; this is the truth.”
Charlotte thought back. But no matter how much she tried, she had been an articulate child who could speak proper words well for her age. She had tried to repay the teasing she had received, but the tables had turned on her. When Charlotte and Eshe’s voices grew slightly louder, Aria stirred. They both immediately fell silent.
Aria pretended she was about to wake but then dozed off again. Charlotte and Eshe let out a sigh of relief. Charlotte whispered softly.
“Does teasing me make you happy?”
“Yes, it does.”
It was a response with no hesitation, as if he might tease her again, yet the hand he reached out with was surprisingly gentle and tender. The tips of his fingers brushed against her lips while caressing her cheek. Eshe smiled deeply and whispered softly.
“I like seeing you smile. You used to smile so often.”
“Don’t you smile well now?”
“Not as much. That’s why I left the capital and came to Nostri.”
Charlotte hadn’t really told Eshe what had happened in the capital, but somehow he seemed to see right through her. She didn’t deny it. Charlotte traced her lips along with his. She thought she smiled often these days, but apparently, Eshe didn’t see it that way.
“Are you okay with returning to the capital?”
Charlotte couldn’t answer immediately.
It would take only a day for the social circles to know that she had returned. No, even a day was too long—just a few hours would be enough. Officially, it was said she had been resting, but if news of what happened in Nostri spread openly, everyone would know she had fled there because she couldn’t bear the harsh scrutiny of the public.
She didn’t even need to think to know what words would follow. As soon as she stepped into the capital, she would immediately become the main topic in social circles. She knew that well… but she had no intention of avoiding it. On the contrary, she intended to face it head-on. Charlotte hugged Aria tightly.
She had gone alone before, but this time, she was not alone. Whether she successfully adopted Aria or not, the world would inevitably learn about Aria. Everyone would pay attention to her.
“Honestly, it’s hard to say I’m okay. I’m worried. Very worried.”
Charlotte spoke heavily but with determination in her voice.
“But I won’t just worry. Everyone will gossip about me and Aria, spreading uncertain rumors without trying to separate truth from lies. I’ve been through it several times, so I know. Even so, I will not let myself crumble.”
Aria would inevitably be labeled as “the child Charlotte Blanche, unmarried, is attempting to adopt,” and Charlotte was the only one who could protect her. As a mother, she had to protect her daughter.
“But if I again falter and collapse…”
It was unlikely, but if it ever happened…
“Would you accept me again?”
Charlotte looked at Eshe. He smiled. Instead of telling her not to be weak or to gain strength, he simply offered a quiet smile. To Charlotte, that smile was more encouraging than any words could be.
“If it’s you and Aria, I will welcome you with open arms.”
“I’ll see if your arms are really open.”
Eshe hesitated briefly, then spread his arms halfway.
“Oh? We’ll need to practice separately. How wide do you want me to open them? Like this?”
“Open them wider.”
“There isn’t enough space to open my arms further. What do you think?”
“Does that mean your feelings for me are only this much?”
“I’ll have the coachman stop the carriage. We’ll get off so you can see my sincerity with your own eyes.”
Eshe’s playful words lifted Charlotte’s mood. She peeked at the sleeping Aria and quietly chuckled. The sun had set, and darkness had fallen, but the sky outside the window was still bright. The closer they got to the capital, the more stars appeared between the clouds, twinkling.
As Eshe said, they arrived just before the morning sun rose, after night had passed. Charlotte carefully carried the still-sleeping Aria out of the carriage. Having stayed in the northern mountains surrounded by snowy peaks, descending to the capital felt warm even though it was before sunrise.
Charlotte looked around. Normally, there would have been guards on patrol, but none were in sight. Not even the servants who would normally wake early to collect and sort the mail…
Wait—mail? At that moment, Charlotte remembered something she had forgotten.
“Ah!”
“Why?”
“I just remembered I didn’t properly correct Grandfather about Aria.”
Eshe frowned slightly. Not that she hadn’t said anything, but that she hadn’t corrected him?
“Correct?”
“I should have told him that I was taking care of a child I had brought with me, but Anna wrote it incorrectly that I had a child, and it stayed that way…”
“Oh dear.”
It was extremely prone to misunderstanding. Of course, Grand Duke Blanche knew Charlotte well enough to not doubt her, but from the perspective of a grandfather who doted on his granddaughter, he must have been worried.
“You, Duke, should explain alongside me. I need to tell him how Aria came to me.”
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.”
At that moment, the castle gates, adorned with the Blanche family’s rose emblem, clattered open and slowly swung aside. As soon as they opened, Grand Duke Blanche walked down the central aisle. Seeing his granddaughter after so long, he stepped forward happily, but realized Aria had woken from the loud noise.
“Charlotte.”
“Grandfather!”
The Duke, now standing right in front of them, didn’t look well. Shadows stretched beneath his eyes, and he seemed exhausted from lack of sleep. But Charlotte focused too much on his outward appearance and didn’t immediately notice the hidden happiness of a grandfather seeing his granddaughter after so long.
The Duke, hearing Aria had arrived, put on only his coat over his indoor clothes and walked straight to the study. The granddaughter he finally met looked healthier than he had expected, considering he had spent the previous nights overwhelmed by work.
He worried about whether she had eaten or slept well, but it seemed Aria had adapted well to the northern regions. The Duke expressed his gratitude to Eshe for bringing Charlotte and Aria back safely.
“You’ve worked hard. Thank you for taking care of my granddaughter. And…”
Both Eshe and Charlotte had worked hard to come here, so he intended to go inside quickly. But something kept moving in Charlotte’s arms.
At first, he thought it was luggage, but then realized there was no reason for her to hold it instead of placing it in the carriage. When the Duke leaned down halfway to look, a little girl with pure white hair peeked out.
Meeting her clear, blue eyes, the Duke looked surprised.
“Charlotte, this child is…?”
“Grandfather, this child is Aria.”
Charlotte took a brief breath before adding a statement that would shock everyone except Eshe.
“She is my daughter.”
